MESSAGING WAR: Democrats Score On The Regulatory Front

Fans of the movie The Usual Suspects will remember when Keyser Söze noted that the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist. Well, PeakNation, ruling Democrats have pulled one of their greatest tricks on the people of Colorado by convincing them that being a national leader when it comes to new and strict regulations is a good and even desirable attribute.

Think about it… Our oil and gas regulations are some of the toughest and best in the nation. We blazed a trail with over 500 pages of marijuana rules for our state’s newest industry. And now, we’re a national leader when it comes to being one of the first states to regulate ridesharing programs like uberX and Lyft.

Since when did being a leading regulator become a good thing?

The newest regulations for the ridesharing industry are a particularly interesting example. Rep. Libby Szabo, a Republican, helped craft a law that closed a troubling insurance gap for ridesharing programs. We concede this is a good thing, and Szabo did a good job.

However, the entire debate over regulating the ridesharing industry arose because the heavily regulated taxi industry was clamoring for a level playing field. We don’t blame the taxi drivers for wanting the new kids on the block to play fair, but why isn’t the debate about de-regulating taxis instead of writing new regulations for a budding business? Because despite Szabo’s best efforts, Democrats are still in charge.

The problem is that repealing regulations is never an option when you’re a Democrat. This mentality has turned Colorado into a state where Democrats run amuck and blackmail industries into what they like to call ‘self-regulation,’ except that it happens under the threat of even more draconian measures.